THE SPIRITUAL AND THE MATERIAL — ONE WORLD OR TWO?

Do you dream of attaining inner and outer riches? Can you have a great spiritual life while enjoying fabulous wealth? Is such a life possible?

If you think a life filled with spiritual and material wealth is merely a fantasy, you are not alone. Some people believe they must choose either an outer life of material abundance gained by participation in the world, or an inner life of spiritual abundance gained by deepening their relationship with God.

Is this belief in such a material/spiritual choice built upon a solid foundation or simply an outdated concept? History is replete with examples of beliefs once universally accepted as true but now known to be false. Today we know that the earth is not the center of the universe. Nor is it flat.

The spiritual millionaires you will soon meet are living proof that your house need not be divided. Both God and material abundance may be realized here and now, in this world. Indeed, if you are to fulfill your potential as a human being, you must be fully engaged in every possible facet of existence — the divine and worldly, the intangible and tangible, the spiritual and material.

You might be thinking "Wait a minute, I'm not buying this." Many people remain firmly convinced that economic Darwinism determines who becomes rich — that in this materialistic jungle, only the most aggressive prosper. Hard-core capitalists — whose sole interest is making money without regard for moral or spiritual considerations — sit at the pinnacle of financial abundance. Anyone who attempts to apply spiritual ideals in their material life will be trampled underfoot by these unbridled capitalists.

There is substantial evidence that these widely held beliefs are mistaken. Alex Edmans, an Assistant Professor of Finance at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, authored a study in August, 2012, which documented that treating your employees well results in increased stock prices for your company. Mr. Edmans concluded that "firms with high levels of job satisfaction, as measured by inclusion in the list of the "Best Companies to Work For in America", generate high long-run stock returns." Specifically, the "Companies listed in the "100 Best Companies to Work For in America" generated 2.3-3.8%/year higher stock returns than their peers from 1984-2011." Alex Edmans also found that "the Best Companies systematically beat analyst earnings estimates". Doing good pays dividends.

In early summer 2011 Towers Watson conducted its 2011/2012 North American Talent Management and Reward Survey and the results parallel the findings of Alex Edmans. "Organizations with reward and talent management programs that support their business goals are more than twice as likely to report being high-performing companies (28% versus 12%).

Those with reward and talent management programs that support their attraction and retention goals are less likely to report having trouble attracting critical skill employees (52% versus 68%) or retaining critical skill employees (29% versus 43%)." Treating employees well through reward and talent management programs will make it easier for you to recruit and retain critical skill employees and well-treated employees are motivated to make your business a high-performing company.

When Chris Van Gorder became the CEO of Scripps Health in 2000, it was a large hospital system characterized by operating losses in excess of $20 million per year, high turnover and labor shortages, union and legislative risk. Chris Van Gorder and Senior Vice President Vic Buzachero created a turnaround program that focused on Scripps' workforce. The Scripps' management team utilized the services of Great Place to Work® as a major component of the turnaround program.

Great Place to Work® took a multifaceted approach, which included a system-wide survey of all employees using Great Place to Work® methodology, analysis of the survey results and recommendations for improvement. Each year thereafter Great Place to Work® analyzed Scripps' performance and recommended specific areas to be improved.

Through analyzing data, Scripps discovered a relationship between the Scripps performance management system scores of individual managers and the Great Place to Work® survey results of the employees who worked for those managers. Scripps divided management performance into quarters and found that managers in the top quarter of Great Place to Work® results performed significantly better than those in the bottom quarter. On average, the departments lead by the top quarter managers had 0% budget variance while the bottom quarter managers had a negative 8.7% budget variance. The departments lead by top quarter managers had a 5.6% turnover rate while the bottom quarter managers had a 16.6% turnover rate.

How has this kinder, gentler approach been working out for Scripps? Scripps has seen dramatic improvements in financial performance, turnover rates and employee morale. Over the past 10 years, employee survey results have improved by 54% while the system has realized over $70 million in cost savings and increased its annual profits by over 1200%. Scripps accomplished this turnaround by making a commitment to transform their workplace culture in addition to focusing on their system's financial performance. If you want your employees to be more productive, give them the working environment you would like. Being a good employer is smart business.

Dramatic examples of good guys finishing first were played out before worldwide audiences in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI. Twice the New England Patriots and New York Giants met in football's biggest game and twice the Giants prevailed.

Super Bowl XLII was played on Sunday, February 3, 2008. The seemingly invincible New England Patriots arrived at the game with an 18-0 record. Their opponents, the New York Giants, had lost six games in the regular season and were trying to become only the second wild-card team ever to win the Super Bowl. The Patriots were heavy favorites — not simply to win, but to crush the Giants.

It didn't happen quite that way. With less than two minutes left in the game and down 14-10, the Giants got the ball back. Michael Strahan, the emotional sparkplug of the Giants, strode up and down the New York bench. "17-14!" he shouted. "We can do this!" And they did! In less than two minutes, the Giants drove the ball 83 yards and scored a touchdown. By believing in themselves, the unsung Giants were able to beat the Patriots for the biggest upset in Super Bowl history.

So what does a football game have to do with good guys finishing first? Quite a lot, as it turns out. In the first game of the 2007 regular season, the Patriots were caught stealing the signals of the opposing team with a video camera. During the investigation that followed, Bill Belichick admitted he had been filming the opposing team's offensive and defensive signals regularly since becoming New England's head coach in 2000. While the Patriot coaches and management tried to make light of the filming, the league was not so inclined. The NFL slapped a $500,000 fine on Belichick, another $250,000 fine on the Patriots, and it took away the team's first-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft.

The behavior of the Patriots is in stark contrast to the humility displayed by the Giants personnel in their post-game interviews. Head coach Tom Coughlin complimented the New England Patriots, calling them a great team. Quarterback Eli Manning talked about the catches made by his receivers during the game-winning drive. Michael Strahan, the cornerstone of the Giants defense, said "My guys are the best in the world." And it turns out they were — shutting down the number-one offense in the history of the NFL. In interview after interview, when the Giants players were asked about their personal accomplishments in the game, they talked about their teammates, not themselves.

Fast forward to Super Bowl XLVI played on Sunday, February 8, 2012. The New England Patriots entered the game with a 15-3 record. Again the New York Giants were a wild card team, having lost seven games in the regular season. Just a few weeks earlier, after a week 15 loss to the Washington Redskins, the Giants sat at 7-7, and were on the brink of missing the postseason. The Giants then reeled off five straight wins, including beating two of the best teams in the NFL in the playoffs - the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers - to enter the Super Bowl with a 12 –7 record.

The Giants' capped off their improbable run with one last comeback to defeat the New England Patriots 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI. Down 17-15 with 3 minutes and 46 seconds left in the game, New York took over at its own 12 yard line. The team drove the ball down the field in less than 3 minutes and scored the game-winning touchdown.

After the game a reporter commented to New York quarterback Eli Manning that only 11 quarterbacks had won two Super Bowls and he was now one of them. Manning replied, "I don't think that's the story. The story is the New York Giants won the championship. This isn't about one person. This is about a team coming together."

Justin Tuck, a defensive stalwart for the Giants who had two sacks in the game echoed those sentiments, saying "This was a team effort, a team win."

Tom Coughlin, the embattled coach of the New York Giants who was on the hot seat all season long, summed it up with these words, "All things are possible for those who believe." Coughlin was either consciously or unconsciously paraphrasing the words of Jesus.

There are immutable divine laws at work here, regardless of whether we believe in them or are even aware of their existence. These divine laws include techniques for achieving success in the world.

So, what are these techniques? They are a simple adaptation of the four-step process God used to create the universe. You can achieve success by utilizing this four-step approach, which we will summarize in the remainder of this chapter. Subsequent chapters are devoted to a detailed explanation of the four steps, and will provide you with exercises and tools to help you effectively implement each step. Through the practical application of these principles, you will personally reap the richest harvest of spiritual and material success.

Your dreams can and will become reality.

Step One: Find and Develop Your Seed Thought

What is a seed thought? How will my seed thought come to me?

Our story begins at the beginning. We mean at the very beginning — what the Bible calls Genesis. The origin of the universe is called the Big Bang by scientists, but even before that split second of incomparable energy, there was the foundational thought of God. Everything around us has its origin in that unknowable Great Mind.

Energy spewed forth in response to that Divine thought. The Divine will then molded that energy to form our world. From its very inception, our cosmos has been guided by this Divine universal pattern. It begins with thought, moves into energy, and results in a physical manifestation created through willpower. This Divine formula is the template for all creation, including the creation of wealth.

Man being made in God's image is not just a metaphor, but the very foundation of who we are. Man, alone in our world, was given the Divine power to manifest his thoughts and aspirations as physical reality. Like Michael Strahan, we all use our thoughts as the springboard to make things happen here on Earth. The proof can be found in the manmade world all around us.

The first step in all creative endeavors is to come up with an idea, because all action begins with thought. Some thoughts are more inspired than others. Those thoughts which come from your intuition — your highest source of consciousness — may rightly be called seed thoughts.

A seed thought = the manifestation of Spirit as an idea

We use the equal sign to indicate that we are speaking of a science every bit as powerful and practical as physics or chemistry. Your seed thought contains the building blocks — the DNA — of what you desire to create.

A seed thought expands beyond the actual words and merges with the intention behind the words — the feelings around the words and the entire being of the person having the thought. Seed thoughts have a dynamic power well beyond your normal everyday thoughts. They are born in your consciousness to help you fulfill your divinely ordained mission on Earth.

There is a unique seed thought for you, for me, for every one of us. Our interviewees discovered and developed their seed thoughts in a variety of ways. Edna Hennessee's seed thought arose from a practical desire to overcome her personal challenges. Zachary Taylor consciously developed a seed thought incubation process that harnesses the tremendous power of the subconscious mind. Both of these approaches and others will be discussed in detail in chapter 2, where we provide you with tools to help you find your seed thought.

Possession of a seed thought, though empowering in and of itself, does not guarantee success in the world. Before you attempt to implement your idea, you must analyze it. Does it look and feel right to you? Does it ring true? Does it fit with your world view? Is the thought practical and do you have the skills needed to turn this idea into a business? If all of these questions are answered in the affirmative, you move on to the second step, determining whether this seed thought is your calling from God.

Step Two: Determine and Accept Your Calling

What is a calling? How do I find my calling?

Some people have a restrictive definition of what it means to be called by the Divine, but Spirit is infinitely creative. Our roles come in all shapes and sizes. This diversity is reflected by the fact that everyone has a special calling.

While your calling may not be to spread the gospel or feed the lepers of Calcutta, it is no less important. The people interviewed for The Prosperity Game have been called to follow many different paths: create a public relations firm, manufacture clothing, develop and produce documentary films, provide medical equipment, manufacture herbal teas and design forecasting software for businesses.

So what exactly is a calling? Your calling is simply the place where you feel totally alive and connected to all that is. Through being receptive to inspiration and guidance, whether from within or without, your mission will come into focus. When you open a channel to the spiritual realms, your activities and aspirations are infused with divine energy. Personal goals and desires are shaped to serve the grand design and life becomes filled with meaning.

How can you become more receptive to this divine plan? No one method of making a connection with the divine is better than any other method. Some methods, such as meditation, being in nature, or prayer, work well for many people but not for everyone. No matter what your makeup, there is a way to attune with Spirit that will work well for you. In chapter 3, we provide simple processes to deepen your unique relationship with the Divine.

For a few fortunate individuals, such as Drake Sadler, their calling makes itself known in a dramatic fashion. For many others, including Kim Gay, their calling comes into focus over a period of time. Your calling may announce itself in either of these ways, or in a thousand others.

So, how do you know that your seed thought is your calling? In the end, it is a matter of heart. Pay attention to how you feel after immersing yourself in your seed thought. If your seed thought reflects your true calling, you will feel connected, passionately alive and totally present in the moment.

Many believe that spiritual people have given up all passion. This could not be further from the truth. Passion and spirituality are intimate partners. Jesus was very passionate about his message. St. Francis, Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer and many others who found their calling, were equally passionate about their mission in life. You need passion to access the power of Spirit in your business, to live your calling, to follow your bliss.

When you recognize your calling, you know there your life has a purpose, there is a reason why you are here. Your heavensent thought now infuses you with Divine energy and deep peace. You become more fully engaged with life. You are surrounded by an all-pervading sense of well-being and the inherent perfection of everything. When you embrace your seed thought, you open the door to tremendous external achievement and deep inner fulfillment. You have found your calling, what you were meant to do. Your life becomes what it was always meant to be — a gift from the Divine will.

When you accept your calling, the standoff between heaven and earth has ended. Your business is united with your spiritual life. You feel the grace of the Divine as you reach for your goals of material and spiritual abundance. You are on your way, but there is still a lot of work to do. Now it is time to manifest your calling in the world.